They are descended from the noble House of Cattaneo-Zaccaria,[1] who, for a period, governed the island of Negroponte along with other territories such as Lesbos, Phocaea.

[5] Despite the original surnames of Zaccaria and Cattaneo being gradually lost through numerous marriages into prominent Giustiniani houses— particularly the Bassano-Giustiniani and Pascari families— the Negroponte name was retained.

[7] When the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III sought to reassert control, Andriolo, being absent, left his uncle, Arrigo Tartaro, in charge.

[13] Two gold coins, modeled after Venetian ducats, have survived depicting Andriolo and Domenico Cattaneo and attesting to the wealth of these lands under their governance.

[20] Consequently, the earliest recorded instances of such individuals date back to 1601, when various members were mentioned in the codex of the Latin bishopric and the Greek codices of Nea Moni in Chios.

Miltiadis also acquired the "Negroponte Mansion" which temporarily housed Constantine I of Greece and Sophia of Prussia while the New Royal Palace was being built.

In England, Dimitrios Negrepontis became a notable shipping magnate and the first-ever Greek to participate in the Winter Olympics as an alpine skier.

Through marriages with most of the prominent noble families of Chios, various branches of the Negroponte were established, and they continue to exist to this day.

[29] In 1877, a correspondence between Menelaus Zannis Negroponte and William Ewart Gladstone, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, sparked considerable controversy.

The letter from Gladstone was alleged to have called for Greeks to unite with Slavs in an attack on the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878).

This allegation was reported by multiple newspapers including The Times, The Daily Telegraph and the Pall Mall Gazette.